Phone calls before 5 a.m. are never usually good news, and the call Bruce Gabriel received on Tuesday morning was no exception.
It was at 4:20 a.m. that the president of the Prince George branch of the Royal Canadian Legion was informed there had been a break in.
According to Prince George RCMP, it was nearly 40 minutes earlier that an officer spotted two suspicious men near the corner of 20th Avenue and Spruce Street. Further investigation uncovered items belonging to the legion in their possession.
"Checks of the Legion by other officers found that it had been broken into," said a statement from RCMP spokesperson Craig Douglass.
"They broke into the doors, they rifled through our office, stole a bunch of keys, broke into the Keno [machines], broke into our back bar area," said Gabriel. "They went through there with a big crowbar and... stole a bunch of liquor, stole a bunch of stuff with emblems on it. We probably have to replace about five or six doors."
Gabriel said about $1,800 in cash was stolen and that the damage left behind could be in the $6,000 to $7,000 range.
Jordan Neil Shaw, 20, from Prince George and 22-year-old Julien Erik Natsuk from Prince Rupert were both charged with possession of property obtained by crime (under $5,000), theft of property (under $5,000) and mischief to property.
Shaw pled guilty in provincial court on Wednesday and was sentenced to 28 days in jail and 18 months probation. Natsuk remains in custody until his next court appearance scheduled for Aug. 22.
There's never a good time for a theft, but the Legion's resources are already drained having just completed the renovations on their new 1116 Sixth Ave. home that officially opened in April.
"We were pretty happy - we had our big health inspection last week which we went through with flying colours. On Monday here we sold our first meals out of the kitchen," Gabriel said.
Changes to the provincial liquor laws meant the kitchen was a major priority since minors are now allowed on the premises in the company of a parent or guardian up to 10 p.m. if there is food service.
It's the first time the local legion has been the target of a break in since Gabriel has headed the organization.
"Being non profit, there's not a lot but when you lose a little it's quite a bit. If you only had $100 and that's all you had and somebody stole it well that's pretty devastating," said Gabriel. "Everything we get we put back to the community, right?"
The Legion is working with their insurance company to see what will be covered, but in the meantime, the organization can always use donations, Gabriel said.
"We didn't have a lot of working capital left because most everything we had went into our renovations," said Gabriel. "It's pretty devastating."
